Box Score

LORETTO, Pa. (March 17, 2012) – With nothing but Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association action remaining in its schedule, the Saint Francis University men's volleyball team took on No. 8 Penn State Saturday night and dropped a 3-0 decision (18-25, 21-25, 17-25).

It was a slow start for the Red Flash (9-11, 4-3 EIVA) against the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions (14-3, 7-0 EIVA). Penn State opened with six consecutive points and built up a 10-2 lead before head coach Mike Rumbaugh called his first timeout of the contest. Coming out of the break Saint Francis put together a small 4-2 run to try and get themselves back into the opening set. SFU brought Penn State's lead to within five at 16-11 but the Nittany Lions begun to string together a few points here and there to take the first set 25-18.

In the second set SFU kept things close early on with the score deadlocked at nine. Penn State started to build up a comfortable advantage though, taking a 15-11 lead halfway through set number two. A 6-2 run by Saint Francis however rallied them to tie the score at 17 before a Penn State timeout. A few unforced errors by the Flash and strong play by the Nittany Lions at the end of the set, gave PSU the second set win and the 2-0 lead in the match.

Penn State jumped out to an early 6-2 lead as the third set got underway. SFU reached within striking distance of PSU, closing the score to 17-16 Penn State. The Nittany Lions remained one step ahead of the Red Flash throughout the remainder of the set and took the match in straight sets.

Logan Patterson (Derry, Pa./Derry Area) was the only member of the Red Flash to register double digit figures in kills with his total of 10. Adam Roche (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) put up four total blocks while senior setter Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) dished out 25 assists in the loss.

Saint Francis hits the road for four games beginning next Friday March 24 when they travel to Newark, N.J. for a 7 p.m. matchup against EIVA foe Rutgers-Newark.